SRI LANKA 2
​I visited Sri Lanka in November and December 2018.

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Kandy is the cultural capital of the island and home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic said to contain a tooth of the Buddha himself.*

Each day, fishers take their oruvas (outrigger canoes) and go out in search of the fish for which Negombo is famous.*

This beautiful Benedictine monastery once belonged to tea planter Sir Thomas Lester Villiers.  To create his English lifestyle, he developed some English country-cottage gardens, which are still enchanting visitors today.*

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Rising dramatically from the central plains, the enigmatic rocky outcrop of Sigiriya is perhaps Sri Lanka's single most dramatic sight.*
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The 19m-high Rawanna Ella Falls are about 6km down Ella Gap towards Wellawaya.  During the rainy months, the water comes leaping down the mountainside in what is claimed to be the 'wildest-looking' fall in Sri Lanka, but during the dry season it may not flow at all.*​

Sometimes there's no way to get a seat on the slow but oh-so-popular train to Ella, but with a prime standing-room-only spot looking out at a rolling carpet of tea, who cares?*​

​Kings ruled the central plains of Sri Lanka from Polonnaruwa 800 years ago, when it was thriving commercial and religious centre.*​​

This well-maintained cemetery contains 163 graves from colonial times.*


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Perched at the southern edge of the Hill Country, the largely Tamil town of Haputale clings to a long, narrow mountain ridge with the land falling away steeply on both sides.*


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Founded in the 4th century BC, Anuradhapura was the epicentre of the island's Buddhist civilisation for around 1300 years, a city of magnificent monasteries and palaces sustained by an ingenious irrigation system and huge tanks.*
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Outside, the colourful silk saris of Tamil tea pickers stand out in the sea of green: inside, you may get a shy welcome via a smile.*​

The top sport in Sri Lanka is, without a doubt, cricket.*
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Negombo is dotted with churches -- so many locals converted to Catholicism that the town is sometimes known as 'Little Rome'.*

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​Close to the seafront near the lagoon mouth are the ruins of the old Dutch fort, which has a fine gateway inscribed with the date 1678...As the fort grounds are now occupied by the town's prison, the only way you'll get a peek inside is by committing a serious crime.*

*These captions are from Sri Lanka -- Lonely Planet's travel guide.